Spring Greens make a Feast with Dover Sole, Quinoa, and Shrooms
23 May 2008 by Jean Johnson 
I bought some red peppers the other day. It was against my local, seasonal religion and all, but I guess I was feeling rebellious. For sure, the kale, spaghetti squash, and tofu dish I pulled together took on a wow when I added the red peppers. Still, I thought wistfully back to last year when I waited humbly and patiently for the tomato and pepper season. It’s true, I did appreciate the peppers and their saucy cousins way more when I let the anticipation build and counted the days.
So, I’m back on the straight and narrow. I don’t know why I was tempted by the peppers when spring greens are so very, very sublime. Absent is the strong taste that comes from mature greens. Ditto on the toughness. Spring greens are all about tender sweetness–so much so that they really are a different animal altogether.
All they take besides a minute flashed on high with a dab of water are some sliced scallions or green garlic and good oil along with red chile flakes for attitude. I enjoyed these greens with pan-fried Dover sole and leftover quinoa that I reheated in the hot wok once the greens were done. There were wedges of lemon to squeeze over the fish and greens, plus a little chopped parsley to decorate here and there.
As an afterthought, I also flashed some mushrooms once the quinoa was out of the wok. Again, it was a brief minute on high heat in enough water to help things along. I saved the butter for the end once the shrooms onto the plates. All that and it was still a 10-minute meal, clean-up included.
(The mushrooms were a real treat since I only buy the expensive organic kinds. Non-organic shrooms have some of the highest residues of fungicides and pesticides of any food. In addition to spraying the crop, the compost and sheds in which the mushrooms grow are treated as well.)
